Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend and discuss changes in teaching and learning while at the Chicago Tech Forum and a Google at School Event. Over the course of two days, we discussed changes in how students are learning, including hot topics related to collaboration, shifting time, and open access to resources. I was able to share some of our plans for next year around 1:1 in our schools and reaffirmed that we are headed in the right direction. I then had the chance to put my learning in action yesterday when I taught an earth science class in one of our 1:1 pilot classrooms. It was incredible to build and structure a lesson where the world of resources were at my students’ fingertips. I was able to use online formative assessment tools to monitor student progress and pace activities. Getting into a classroom and teaching with the tools was an exciting way to jump into the changes that are coming to our classrooms next year. We should all take the time to step out of our usual roles as administrators, and remind ourselves what it means to be a teacher and a student. We can learn a lot from walking down another person’s path and observing their environment and experience. I encourage you to take a stroll to reflect on a different perspective before the year is out.